Blog Tour: Guest Post by Laxmi Hariharan - The Inspiration Games

The Inspiration Games by Laxmi Hariharan

“It was India which invented the bow & arrow” my Dad blustered over the phone from Bombay, “remember Arjuna’s skill at archery? How he could concentrate till he saw nothing else but the target and shoot it with unerring precision time after time….”  He had just returned from seeing the Hunger Games at his local multiplex, when my weekly Sunday phone call had sparked off this conversation; with him insisting that the cross-bow was an Indian invention.  “Uh! Dad,”  I protested, “not everything in science fiction comes from Indian mythology….” I was, as usual, embarrassed by his well known theme of India shining and claiming ownership of emerging trends. Yet his comment gave me pause for thought. I began to wonder if he had a point?

Lord Rama with his bow from centuries ago!

Katniss in The Hunger Games

Cut to a few years back, when, on one of my annual trips to Bombay, the extended family had trooped off en masse to see Avatar in 3D at the brand new IMAX theatre in Bombay. I sat next to my father enjoying his excitement as he leaned forward to perch precariously close to the edge of the seat, fascinated by the incredible images flashing across the cinema screen.

Avatar inspired by Indian mythology? Who would have thought!

And as the scene with the Tree of Souls which has a neural link to the Na’vi uniting them all as one, unfolded, he gasped in surprise shaking his head; explaining to me later that Ayurveda the Indian system of traditional medicine had a very similar concept of unity.  That, all living creatures are linked to this planet and are one with Earth. The concept of blue people itself was familiar as many Indian Gods are depicted in similar fashion. Flying chariots, Gods teleporting at will across dimensions, powerful weapons of war that could destroy entire armies, revolving discs & guided swords spewing fiery sparks which would return to their owners after hitting its target, illusions which could frighten without hurting, and the massive bow which only Rama could string to win the heart of the beautiful Sita… Hmmm! I had seen these scenes countless times over the years.

Tiina inspired by Goddess Uma (The Destiny of Shaitan)

Amar Chitra Katha (Indian comic books) took over where my grandmother left off, yet what chance did a teenager’s raging hormones stand against tight bodysuits, plunging necklines, fanatical crime fighting and passionate love stories. With the first Superman movie I was in love with caped crusaders – Spiderman, Legion of Superheroes (my personal favourite) Green Lantern, Wonder Woman not to mention Tarzan &Phantom and much later Conan the Barbarian – I lived happily with them for a very long time. And then I stumbled across the gaming world which is proud to borrow from Indian mythology. Take for example Asura’s Wrath an action video game released February 2012. According to the game’s producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, “Asura’s Wrath takes elements from Hindu mythology and blends them with science fiction. In the game, Asura is a demigod fighting to reclaim his daughter from the deities who kidnapped her and banished him from earth.”

Or for that matter Xena the Warrior Princess’ trademark chakram which looks and acts very similar to the famed sudarshan chakra (Lord Vishnu’s deadly weapon of choice – a golden discus which cuts through the target and returns to owner.)

Xena's Chakra

VS.

Lord Vishnu's Chakra

Over the years I realised that Hollywood and the West have looked to Indian mythology for inspiration. But time has come full circle, with a brave new breed of Indian fantasy writers seeking to carry on the tradition of the ancient epics. Check out the brilliant Ramayana 3392 AD from New York based Liquid comics and the seductive Devi.

Do you have more examples of western science fiction drawing from Indian mythology? Do let me know.

The author:

Laxmi Hariharan was born in India. She lived in Singapore and Hong Kong and is now based in London. She is inspired by Indian mythology. When not writing, this chai-swigging, technophile enjoys long walks in the woods and growing eye catching flowers. Her debut novel The Destiny of Shaitan is available on Amazon http://tiny.cc/szqsew. Reach Laxmi here:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/laxmihariharanauthor

Twitter: @laxmi

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/laxmihariharan/

Website:  http://www.laxmihariharan.com/

Buy the Book: Amazon US ; Amazon UK

Blog Tour: Circe by Jessica Penot

Buy the book: Amazon US ; Amazon UK ; Barnes & Noble

Information:

Title: Circe

Author: Jessica Penot

Publisher: Lachesis Publishing

Target Audience: Adult

Genre: (Psychological) thriller

Length: 209 pages

Story:  When Dr. David Black takes an internship at a very old psychiatric hospital back home in Alabama, he vows two things—that he will be a better husband to his beautiful and loving wife Pria, and that he will stop cheating on her.

Then his enigmatic supervisor Dr. Cassie Allen, a self-proclaimed witch with ties to the underworld, begins to draw him into her darkness. David finds it hard to resist her wicked sensuality, but even harder to resist her evil pull.

As strange and violent deaths pile up left and right, David realizes that Cassie’s psychotic behavior is connected to the mysterious hospital itself. There a demonic force threatens to destroy everything that David holds dear—his wife, his family, even his very sanity.

Thoughts and impressions: First off, in my copy Doctor David Black is called Eric Black. As I received the book as a gift from Amazon, I’m not sure what happened there. It’s not that much of a big deal, but worth pointing out.

This book is one that lies firmly outside of my reading comfort zone. It’s very rare that I’ll read anything even resembling a psychological thriller, though I do enjoy watching movies of the same genre. The whole concept of the haunted asylum drew me to it. Haunted buildings, especially ones where horrors were committed by humans against other humans in the past, is a fascination that I think many people share. I know that I personally am fascinated by such things. So after some initial internal debate over whether I wanted to attach myself to an obligation to read something to far from my comfort zone, I finally caved in and couldn’t resist the temptation.

I got off to a bit of a rocky start with the story. The style at that point is very much tell rather than show (it does become more show later on after the foundations are laid) and the character, Eric, is one who repulsed me. But then, I’m fairly sure that he’s supposed to repulse the reader. At several points throughout the story he is described as being a ‘monster’, and he certainly is! Not in the whole “I go around killing people muahahah” sense, but in the sense that he does not seem to be capable of actually feeling. His thoughts and actions, despicable though many of them are, hold no real meaning for me, and thus entail no real consequences.

As he starts to come undone when things are spiralling out of his control, he takes refuge in the wife to whom he is incapable of being faithful. He keeps telling himself that he’s changed, that he just wants her now… but the reader’s been spoon-fed enough of this same sort of line that they know to be wary of his declarations. It’s just fear pushing him, not real emotional ties. Eventually his status as a monster is completely solidified in a way that I hadn’t been expecting, but one that gives the story, and this C.R.C. (Circe) mental hospital quite the twist!

The asylum was very well portrayed. It was only when Eric started his internship here and we were introduced to the variety of characters who reside there that I was finally able to stop keeping the story at arm’s length. I adored meeting the mentally handicapped individuals and how their various handicaps were manifested. I’m not going to go into any of these, though, as that would spoil the discovery for anyone who does choose to read this story.

The asylum itself wasn’t really so much creepy in the way that I’ve seen other creepy buildings portrayed in literature, but the entity that belongs to the grounds was certainly creepy enough to make up for it. I enjoyed the little titbits into the history of the asylum and would have liked to have had more random facts woven into the story, but I guess that’s what non-fiction books are for.

At the end of the day, even though I really didn’t like the character, I was able to get past this thanks to the compelling tale that is presented. It’s very rare that I can overlook such bad character traits so the author deserves points for that!

Style: As the story is written in the first person, it did occasionally feel like Eric was telling the reader about his story rather than narrating events as they occurred.

Final verdict: Not something that I would usually pick up but something that I’m glad I took the time to read! 4 stars

Extra notes: Both sex and bad language are present.

Blog Tour: Guest Post by Jessica Penot

The Darkest Haunted Asylums

Mental Hospitals and Asylums seem to draw ghost stories the way a light on a dark night draws bugs.  Ghost stories cling to them like moss and collect over time until the dead patients wandering the halls  outnumber the living.   There is an irony to this.  These hospitals were built to be places of healing where the broken and lost could find sanctuary and solace, but these plans often go awry and accidents and apathy turn healing to hurt.  Tragedies linger in the shadows of these hospitals and collect like dust over time.  

I have worked at several asylums during my career as a psychologist and many times these places are not creepy.  They are places of healing and the staff fights the darkness with art therapy and recreational therapy and all the things mental health professionals do to make hospitals a place of healing.    However, sometimes the sad condition of the chronically mentally ill can’t be combatted by these tools and bad things happen.  Things happen that are so bad, that evil seems to remain in the old hospitals.  It seeps into the foundations of the buildings and creeps up through the walls tainting everything inside.  Bad doctors and staff turn bad things into travesties and these hospitals become places of fear.  According to many, the ghosts cling to the emotions that are kept in the hospitals.   Across the nation, there are many hospitals that are considered to be haunted.   These hospitals have tragic histories and their stories can send chills down the spines of even the bravest souls.  Here are a few of my favorite haunted asylums:

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

This is considered by many to be the most haunted hospital in the United States.  This hospital was founded in Weston West Virginia in 1864 and was then called The Weston State Hospital.   The hospital had 250 beds and houses some of the sickest patients in the region.   Although the hospital was built to house only 250 patients, by 1950 overcrowding turned the hospital into something out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the building housed as many as 2500 sick souls.  Even Charles Manson spent some time at this notorious hospital.   The hospital witnessed all the worst of the early treatments for mental illness and frontal lobotomies and water shock treatment were the mainstays of early treatment here.  However, the worst tragedies occurred when the patients hurt each other.  There were several patient to patient killings here and one nurse vanished only to have her body discovered under the stairs two years later.  Death became common place at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.  In 1994, the hospital was considered unusable and it was close.   Those that have visited this hospital say that they hear phantom noises throughout the hospital.  They hear ghostly screams and wails.  Full body apparitions have been seen wandering the hallways and strange noises come from the darkness.

Bryce Hospital for the Insane

Alabama Hospital for the Insane was designed to be a refuge for the mentally ill. Its architecture was designed based on the ideas of Dorothea Dix and Thomas Story Kirkbride. It was meant to be moral architecture that would contribute to the healing process within the hospital The hospital opened in 1861 and for a while it held to the ideals of Dix and Kirkbride. The first superintendent, Peter Bryce, was an idealist and he had studied mental health in Europe. He believed that patients should be treated with respect kindness. He even abandoned the use of restraints. The hospital was later named for Bryce and it went on to be the model for progressive mental health care.


Time quickly eroded Bryce' legacy, however. By 1967, there were more than 5200 patients residing in a facility that was never meant to hold that many. Observers described Bryce as a concentration camp and a model for human cruelty. In 1970, one patient named Wyatt started a class action law suit against the Alabama's other mental hospital, Searcy State Hospital. This lead to major change in the way the mentally ill were treated in Alabama. The number of beds was cut drastically and humane treatment of the mentally ill became an absolute necessity. The landmark Wyatt v. Strickney Case would change Bryce drastically. Old Bryce was the African American portion of Bryce Hospital and was notorious for being even crueler than its white counterpart. After Wyatt v. Strickey and desegregation, Old Bryce was shut down entirely and other buildings were used. The African American patients were integrated into the white population.


Old Bryce still sits quietly deserted, however, as a reminder to the old days when patients were held like prisoners with no rights. It is covered in graffiti and has been vandalized many times. It’s even been set on fire. Trespassing is forbidden here, but the curious have reported seeing all manner of horrors coming out of the dark around Old Bryce. Lights flicker on an off in the building that has no electricity. Phones ring in rooms with no phones. Phantom lights drift from room to room. Furniture moves on its own and footsteps echo through the abandoned hallways. The living patients may be gone, but many believe Old Bryce is still filled with the ghosts of those who once suffered in its walls.


Norwich State Hospital For The Mentally Insane


Norwich Hospital for The Mentally Insane was built in 1904 in Preston, Connecticut and is known for the dark ghosts that live inside of it.  The Norwich Hospital was designed to house the worst of the criminally insane patients in the state and, until 1971, it did just that.  It was home to murders, rapists, and other violent offenders.  The hospital is situated on 900 acres of woodland and is utterly isolated and crumbling.  This façade has added to the horror stories that have built up around the violent people that lived within the hospital and has created a collection of ghost stories so large they could fill a book.  Suicides and murders fill the history of Norwich Hospital and those who have died there never seem to leave.  Witnesses describe hearing screams in the darkness Faces appear out of nowhere and strange mists and lights are seen in the halls.


Searcy State Hospital


Searcy State Hospital is located in  the most Southern part of rural Alabama.  Prior to being a state hospital the old hospital has a long and dark history that is very difficult to find, but easy to see upon casual observation. The hospital is encased in long, chipped, white walls that seem as old as anything in the United States. From outside these walls, you can see a battered watchtower that gives testament to the fact that the hospital is in the same location as a 300 year old fort. The fort bears witness to American history and was originally a Spanish fort. It switched hands during the Louisiana Purchase and became a US fort. After the US took possession of the fort it was converted to a military arsenal and became known as the Mount Vernon Arsenal. The Arsenal switched hands again several times and was taken by the Confederates during the civil war only to be passed back over the United States again in 1862. From 1887 to 1894, The Arsenal became a Barracks and was used as a prison for the captured Apache people. The most famous of the Apache people to be held in these barracks was Geronimo. The infamous Aaron Burr was also held at this secluded prison at some point.


In 1900 the Barracks were transformed once again and the prison became a mental hospital. Searcy hospital was built as the African American mental hospital in Alabama. Conditions in the hospital were beyond questionable and at one time there were over 2000 patients in the crowded hospital and all were seen by one psychiatrist. All patients were expected to work in the fields.


The hospital was desegregated in 1969, but its history is all around it. The hospital is still used today, and although the residents live in new buildings, many tell stories of ghosts and devils that linger in the white walls and abandoned buildings that surround the new facilities. These stories are usually ignored, because the patients are crazy, but I’m not the only sane person who saw a few ghosts while they were working there.


Searcy served as the inspiration for my new novel, Circe. Its tragic history and haunted atmosphere serve as a backdrop to the chilling tale of a young intern slow decent into madness. If you would like to read more about Searcy, you can find my book at:
 www.jessicapenot.net, www.amazon.com,  www.ghoststoriesandhauntedplaces.blogspot.com, or http://www.lachesispublishing.com/products.asp?cat=2

The Cover Wars: Vampire Academy

Tara of Basically Books and I decided to get together to do a weekly meme where we would compare covers of the UK editions of books with those of the US editions.

The aim of this is to just have a bit of fun. We put ourselves in the position where we see both of these books side by side in the bookstore. Which would we choose? Why that one and not the other?

This week we will be comparing the covers of Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

US cover                                            UK cover

Rea says: I find myself a bit torn about this one. I’m not really overly fond of covers with photographed models on the cover like the US one but the UK is lacking something too. The Rose on it makes me think of Beauty and the Beast, while really it’s supposed to be portraying Rose, the main character (or at least I assume it is).I think I’m going to go with the UK one, though I have no clear reason why.

Tara says:  The US one has girl and a gate and that’s it for me, nothing stands out and it looks like any other book with a girl on the cover. The UK one is so pretty with the rose and then at the top there is that blood dripping down - and I really like that!  UK for me :D

Score:

Week 27:     US: 4     UK: 14     Draw: 8

Do you want to join in too? Here’s how:

Step 1: Copy and paste the Cover Wars image.

Step 2: Copy and paste our intro or write your own but it must link back to both of our blogs.

Step 3: Copy and paste the US and UK cover images.

Step 4: Compare the two.

Step 5: Either use our score or keep your own score.

Step 6: Post it and share it!

Thanks and have fun!

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Freefall by Susan Rae

review / interview / giveaway

*giveaway is at the bottom*

So apparently my go-to genre when I’m feeling weighed down by a long week is romance! When I read the synopsis of this one I was immediately intrigued as I have come into a family surrounded by aeroplanes. I even live under one of the landing routes for Schiphol Amsterdam and work between two others – there is no such thing as escape from the planes! What’s more, I’ve actually been on a flight in one of those little planes. Here’s a photo of me & the bf in front of our plane:

Information:

Title: Freefall

Author: Susan Rae

Publisher: Musa Publishing

Target Audience: Adult

Genre: Contemporary romance / chick lit / mystery

Length: Unknown (not too long)

Story: Freak accident, or attempted murder? Kate needs answers to her brother’s plane crash, but can she trust undercover DEA agent “Spike” Larsen to deliver them?

He felt as if he was falling—freefalling through 15,000 feet—without a parachute. It was exciting, thrilling—and deadly. He’d brought Kate up here to protect her, to keep her out of trouble. He’d told himself he owed that much to Keith. Now all he wanted to do was take her down into the cabin and ravage her ‘til dawn…

Kate Reynolds’s quest to unravel the mystery of her brother’s plane crash throws her into the turbulent wake of suave pilot/mechanic Everett Larsen. His gray gaze ignites in her a passion as powerful as a jet stream, but it also sparks a memory…

Drawn to Milwaukee by Keith’s cryptic message, Larsen is unprepared for the torrent of emotion he feels when he sees Kate—after his wife’s death, he is afraid to love again. But when Kate gets too close to the truth, he is even more afraid to lose her.

Thoughts and impressions: The book opens with “the pilot” taking off and soon realising that there’s something not right with his plane. He’s faced with the choice of attempting to right the problem by continuing with his flight – and thus potentially endangering citizens – or returning to the runway in what can only be a crash landing. Following the pilots’ code of ethics, he chooses to put only himself at risk rather than innocent people who just happen to live close by the airport.

We then meet his sister, Kate, who is having to come to terms with the fact that her brother has almost died in an accident involving a flying machine for the second time in his life. The doctors inform her that despite the extent of his injuries he still has brain activity, which is a good sign, but there’s no telling when, or if, he’ll wake up. Kate basically puts her life on hold in order to tend to her brother, but she also wants to help keep his business, an airport, running while he’s unable to keep on top of it himself. As she starts to uncover the events in his life leading up to his accident, though, she also finds herself wondering whether she really knew her brother as well as she thought she did.

At the same time, we’re introduced to Everett Larsen, an army buddy of our beloved coma patient, Keith. Keith had contacted him prior to the accident about something fishy taking place. What’s more, it would appear that Keith’s accident might not have been an accident at all. Everett, now an undercover investigator, is determined to get to the bottom of what happened to his friend, which puts him in Kate’s path. She doesn’t recognise him, though, and he’s happy to present a false persona in order to keep her from learning the truth.

There’s a lot of truth being kept from others in this story, which is usually the way of things in mystery, but Kate and Everett do tend to take it to an extreme. They’re both damaged individuals with previous relationships that ended in emotional turmoil. As such, they’re still working past their demons, but in each other they find a way of coming to terms with what happened – the past is the past and both realise that they need to turn a new page and look to the future instead.

I enjoyed the budding relationship between these two characters as well as the glimpse into life around a small airport. With Schiphol being one of the busiest airports in Europe, my experience is obviously very different, though I have visited some smaller ones in passing (like the “field” in the photo above), which seem much more relaxed and very quaint! In fact, the little views into the life running an airport like this were the highlight of the story.

My only real gripe with the story was that the truth behind what happened to Keith was fairly transparent. As soon as any new information was imparted to the characters, even if it was misleading, it was possible for the reader to put the pieces together much faster than the story was keeping up with. It was just too easy to unravel the mystery and I could see most of the twists and turns coming from the moment they were introduced.

Despite this, I enjoyed the read!

Style: Sometimes the dialogue sounded really corny. It just didn’t sound natural at all.

Final verdict: An enjoyable light and fluffy romance! 4 stars

Extra notes: Both bad language and sex are present.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

The interview:

Hi there! Welcome to Rea’s Reading and Reviews. Thank you for taking the time to share some info about you and your book with me and my readers. Tell us a bit about yourself!

I have always been writing something since I was in 5^th grade.  I wrote a melodrama for the Girl Scout Drama badge in sixth grade, complete with hero, heroine and dastardly villain.  It was lots of fun as I got to play the villain, also.  I’ve done some journalism, short stories, poetry, and even an historical novel—Savage Destiny—during the time of the bodice rippers.  That novel was never published which is probably a good thing!  I may rework it someday though…  Now I guess I have come full circle—romantic suspense is very much like a melodrama. 

1. Describe your book in ten words or fewer.  

Spicy romance and intrigue centered around a mysterious plane crash. 

2. With such a large number of books out there, what do you feel sets your apart from all others? 

The setting, and the intriguing characters.  The story takes place in the Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine Forest and picturesque Door County; but while the setting is idyllic, the drama is not.  As for the characters, Everett and Keith are former Afghanistan special ops pilots who have vowed to look out for each other; Kate is a tough, modern day heroine, head of her own software company, and has no family left in this world but Keith.  The story is about loyalty and family, and how far one will go to protect a loved one.

3. Tell us a bit about your influences and just how / why these authors and / or their work inspire(s) you.

 I have loved a good mystery since I was very young.  I remember reading all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books; then I moved on to Louisa May Alcott, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mary Higgins Clark, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Nora Roberts—just to name a few.  I think all have influenced me, as well as the classics—I was a literature major in college.  I love an expertly written, well-told story. 

4. How did the seeds of this story come to you?  

I have to credit my husband for that.  He was part-owner in an aircraft repair shop.  I spent many a day watching him work on airplanes at the small airfield, and watching the planes take off and land.  The main plotline gelled, though, after reading a news article.

5. Which five books would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island? 

Hopefully, I am stranded with my Kindle that I have just loaded with: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, for fantasy; a hot new thriller, whichever is out at the time; a couple of romantic suspense stories, for heat and adventure; and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.  Between the five of those, I should have lots of characters to keep me company! 

6. Who was your first book crush? (Or if you’ve never had a book crush then who is your favourite character to read about?) 

Other than Nancy Drew, it has to be Jo in Little Women. I read Little Women in sixth grade, and had the opportunity to play Jo in our eighth grade production.  Jo was a tough young woman who gave me the idea that I could be a writer, too.  

7. Let’s imagine that your book’s getting turned into a movie / TV series. Woo! Which actors can you envision playing the lead roles?  

Okay, this question gave me pause.  I’ve honestly thought about it for twenty-four hours and decided I would just have to do a casting call.  I guess I’ve created rather individual characters and I would need to find just the right person to play them—strength with compassion; stubbornness with humility; softness and beauty with a steel core.  I had originally thought of Tom Cruise for Everett, (of course, who wouldn’t), but I think he’s getting a little too old for my hero now, and given the latest news of the breakup of TomKat, probably not such a good choice!  I tell you what, for those of you who read the book, if you come up with any suggestions, please let me know!

8. What do you like to do in your free time (when you’re not reading or writing)? 

I enjoy swimming, travelling around the country in my RV, and golfing.  I really enjoy getting away from the computer and out into the fresh air.  There’s nothing like smacking a golf ball around the course to get your frustrations out when you’re working out a plot point.

9. If you could visit your destination of choice, which plane would you be on in the morning?  

Italy.  I have a painting of a quaint little seaside town hanging above the fireplace in my family room.  Wouldn’t it be great if I could just wiggle my nose like Samantha in bewitched, or get into the transporter like Kirk in Star Trek and whalah!  I’m there!  The truth is, I’m not crazy about flying for eight hours.  But maybe someday…

10. What’s your least favourite chore to do around the house? 

Vacuuming.

11. Does bacon make everything taste better? 

I try to eat healthy, so I don’t use bacon very often (because I have to leave room for cake!)  However, broccoli salad just doesn’t taste right without the real thing, and an “LT” doesn’t cut it either!

12. Anything else you’d like to share with us all? Extra points if you make us giggle!

As for influence for characters, my husband’s co-workers swear he was my main influence for Drake, the intense, hot Irish/Italian hero in my previous novel, heartbeats.  My husband’s response?  He just smiles.  Mine?  I swear it isn’t so, (at least not entirely ); but I mustn’t protest too much, because I think he actually enjoys the comparison!

Thank you for taking the time to share this with us. I wish you the best of luck with your future career as a published writer and look forward to seeing the book you churn out next!

The author:

I write, basically, because I just can’t help myself. I can't resist the challenge of taking the intriguing characters and storylines that pop into my head and fleshing them out into compelling manuscripts. Romantic suspense is a natural to me, because it allows me to combine my love of a good mystery with a passionate love story. It also lets me express my appreciation for the outdoors in the settings which I recreate on the page.


My first novel, heartbeats, is a story of romance and danger set against the background of busy Chicago and the quiet, rural cornfields of northern Illinois. heartbeats has garnered numerous awards, including RWA Golden Heart Finalist for Best Romantic Suspense Novel and Best First Book by First Coast Romance Writers.


In freefall, my second novel, danger and suspense are juxtaposed against the tranquil valley of Sylvan Lake (fictitious) in the Kettle Moraine Forest and the sun-dappled waters of Door County, Wisconsin.


When I’m not sketching characters or working out plot problems, you might find me on the golf course working on my handicap. I also enjoy traveling around the country seeking out new settings for my novels with my husband and my empty nest puppies, Ginger and Nikute.


website

Facebook (author)

Facebook (books)

The giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Cover Wars: Immortal Beloved

Tara of Basically Books and I decided to get together to do a weekly meme where we would compare covers of the UK editions of books with those of the US editions.

The aim of this is to just have a bit of fun. We put ourselves in the position where we see both of these books side by side in the bookstore. Which would we choose? Why that one and not the other?

This week we will be comparing the covers of Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan.

  

US cover                                       UK cover

Rea says: There is absolutely no contest here. I suppose that the US cover is pretty enough in its own right, though I’m not sure it’d ever really attract my attention. The UK cover, though, is absolutely gorgeous. When I saw this book in the store, I bought it without even looking at the blurb because I just wanted this amazing cover on my shelves (luckily the story is just as good as the cover!). UK for me.

Tara’s Says:  I like both covers. They both have their unique thing about them which makes me want to buy them. The US one has a girl and then the title is sideways, whereas on the UK one there are flowers the title is the right way up - where it should be. They are both so pretty, but I will go with UK just because the title is easier to read; I don’t have to tilt my head.  So UK wins!

Score:

Week 26:     US: 4     UK: 13     Draw: 8

Do you want to join in too? Here’s how:

Step 1: Copy and paste the Cover Wars image.

Step 2: Copy and paste our intro or write your own but it must link back to both of our blogs.

Step 3: Copy and paste the US and UK cover images.

Step 4: Compare the two.

Step 5: Either use our score or keep your own score.

Step 6: Post it and share it!

Thanks and have fun!

Shadow Kin by M.J. Scott

Buy the book: Amazon US ; Amazon UK ; Barnes & Noble ; Book Depository

I seem to have been going through a bit of a UF binge of late. Finding myself still wishing for more UF, I picked up this one, partly because of all the reviews I’ve been coming across lately of the sequel! They’ve got me interested in what this one will be like!

Information:

Title: Shadow Kin

Author: M.J. Scott

Series: The Half-Light City #1

Publisher: Roc

Target Audience: Adult

Genre: (Urban) fantasy

Length: 324 pages

Story: Welcome to the Half-Light City.

Imagine a city divided. On one side, the Night World, ruled by the Blood Lords and the Beast Kind. On the other, the elusive Fae and the humans, protected by their steadfast mages. A city held together by nothing more than a treaty-and even then, just barely...

I was born of a Fae mother, but I had no place amongst her kind. They called me "soulless." An abomination. Perhaps they're right...I'm a wraith, a shadow who slips between worlds. I was given into the service of a Blood Lord who raised me to be his most feared assassin. Still, I'm nothing more than a slave to my master, and to the need that only he can fulfill...

Then he orders me to kill Simon DuCaine, a powerful sunmage. In the blaze of his magic, my own disappears. Instead of seeking revenge, Simon shows me mercy. He wants to free me. But that's one thing my master and his kind will never allow.

And even if I thought I could trust Simon, stepping from the shadow into the light isn't as simple as it sounds...

Thoughts and impressions: I have to say I was very surprised by this book. The synopsis makes it obvious that there’s going to be some romance involved but I wasn’t expected it to be quite so central to the plot. My local bookstore is usually fairly good at separating the paranormal romance from the (urban) fantasy, so when I found this one shelved as urban fantasy, I thought I was signing up for an urban fantasy. Imagine my surprise when we don’t even manage to make it through a whole chapter before physical attraction is overruling a lifetime’s worth of training. Indeed, the romance – or at least the initial lust – is thrown in the reader’s face a tad too much for me to really appreciate it.

Add to this the fact that Lily’s sadomasochistic vampire boss is pretty much forcing orgasms on her by making her addicted to his orgasm-inducing blood and the sexual side of the story was too much at the forefront for my tastes. It felt a little on the contrived side to have the heroine constantly feeling “the need” – a need for sexual release that becomes all-encompassing if she doesn’t feed it. Pushing things even farther into my personal realms of disbelief, Lily is still a virgin – her body’s virtue being the only thing she could keep from the Blood (vampires). This was just far too cliché for me. Having an older woman who otherwise makes for a strong heroine being focused on their virginity is one of my personal pet peeves: why give the hero all the experience and the heroine none? It’s not like her past sexual history has a negative effect on their budding “true love” – at least, his doesn’t, so why should hers?

So, the romance plot didn’t really work for me, and considering how essential it is to the overall plot, that’s not a good thing. A good chunk of the story is about how attractive Lily finds Simon, or how much Simon wants to take Lily to his bed. I like romance in what I’m reading, but I don’t like it to be completely overpowering, as I felt was the case here.

Beyond this, the society presented was complex and interesting. It wasn’t really a second world fantasy setting but it wasn’t so much an urban fantasy setting either. The reader is introduced to a city where the Blood (vampires), Beasts (shape shifters), Fare and humans live in a form of uneasy peace kept by a political treaty. The treaty isn’t exactly respected to the full by any of those involved, though, which results in a fair amount of unrest between the factions. While the other three factions were more or less as they are portrayed in most other novels that deal with such paranormal creatures, the humans were particularly interesting. Reading this book I got the definite impression that we’ve really only just started scratching the surface of what there is to the humans’ abilities in this world. For this reason more than any other I’d be interested in following through with this series.

Style: The author had a tendency to write very complicated sentences that got lost in themselves. As a native speaker, I was able to unravel them, but anyone reading this as a non-native speaker of English might have some trouble following some of the more complicated structures.

Also, it’s worth noting that the story is written in two separated first person voices: that of Lily and that of Simon. Unfortunately, both voices are very similar.

Final verdict: A very good idea but the obsession with sex was just taken too far for my tastes. 3 stars

Extra notes: Some bad language present. Sex is present.